Spin The Bottle
by BlueNeutrino
Summary: Non-chronological extracts from the diaries of Alison Tucker, chronicling her time at Hogwarts full of drama, rivalry and backstabbing, and maybe crossing paths with a future Minister for Magic and a Dark Lord. Inspired by… something else, is all I'm saying.
1. The Sorting

_**Spin The Bottle**_

**A/N: So I have this thing I do in several fanfics where I offer arbitrary points, awarded on a system much akin to the one on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" for anyone who can pick up on any obscure references I drop to anything in a fic. Quite a lot of points are up for grabs on this one (based on the entire premise of the fic, if you can spot which book or books inspired this) although of course they cannot be exchanged for anything other than my eternal gratitude to you for reading. It is kind of an odd thing, the place I got this idea from, so if nobody gets it I won't be surprised, and nor will I be surprised if somebody gets it and consequently thinks I'm completely weird.  
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**Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor quite a lot of other things about this.**

_**First Year – The Sorting**_

_September 1__st_

So I've just arrived at Hogwarts! It's even bigger and more impressive than I expected. The Sorting and the feast have just finished and now I'm in my dormitory writing this. I've been sorted into Slytherin. I don't mind that, but why do they have to make the Sorting public? It's bad enough not knowing anyone, but they literally put you up in front of the entire school so your entire personality can be judged and announced to everyone. I hate that.

The Sorting Hat isn't exactly nice either. I never thought I'd find a piece of headgear that had a dislikeable personality, but it's really intrusive. I don't care if that's its purpose, I don't like how it does things. It seems to think I'm reckless, and a control freak, and overly ambitious. And I think it could tell I didn't like having it inside my head, which only made things worse. This is what it said:

"Putting the defenses up won't do you any good. I can see everything in your head, but don't worry; I'm not trying to use it against you. Although that is one of the things I can see most clearly; you often worry people _are _out to get you. But that's not to say you're mistrusting. You're certainly loyal to a fault. Ambitious – very much so – and liking to be in control, but yet you're also reckless. Your friends are the only people whom you're comfortable deferring to or taking criticism from. Half-blood, I see, which you're unhappy about. You like power and associating with people with power and pureblooded status. It's important to you that you're seen as powerful and important, because you're concerned that people don't find you loveable."

I told it that I think I'm highly loveable, thank you very much. It seemed to find that amusing. Then it put me in Slytherin. I hope I never have to do that again.

On the plus side, I met two girls in my year who also got sorted into Slytherin. Antonia Lynton – she's very friendly, and pretty excited to be here. Pureblooded too, but she doesn't rub it in your face. I think we'll get along (although I still think she smiles too much). And Amanda Petersen. It took the Sorting Hat all of two seconds to put her in Slytherin. She's pureblooded, unsurprisingly. Really posh, but soft-spoken and quite personable. Silly hairstyle, but I think I like her.

We're sharing a dorm with two others I didn't get much chance to talk to at the feast – Jordan Grey and Joanna Powell. They seem alright, I suppose. Joanna's half-blood, like me, and unusually for Slytherin Jordan's Muggle-born. Nobody said anything, but I don't think Antonia or Amanda really liked that.

We spent a couple of hours before bed discussing Quidditch and trying to explain the rules to Jordan. Mandy asked me what my team was, so I told her it was the Burnley Blackbirds. Toni says that while she's here she wants to make it onto the Quidditch team, and so do I. We can't while we're first years though, because we aren't allowed our own brooms. What a stupid rule! I told Toni I'd help her become Quidditch captain if we both made it onto the team, and Mandy said she wanted in on it too, so that's our plan for the next few years.

Everybody's getting ready to go to bed now. I'm just updating my diary – I'm planning on writing down everything that happens each day I spend at Hogwarts for the next seven years. I've been so excited about coming here ever since I was little and I can't believe it's finally happening! When I'm finally working at the Ministry it'll be something interesting for me to look back on.

Goodnight Diary,

-Ali


	2. The Quidditch Fiasco

_**Sixth Year – The Quidditch Fiasco**_

_January 23__rd_

Nightmare. Lost the match to Ravenclaw. Even worse, Mandy's been caught betting against the team even though she's our chaser. What the hell was she thinking?! Snape's furious. Don't know what the hell is going to happen now. They've discounted the match results because they suspect Mandy of deliberately throwing the game, but we're not going to be permitted a rematch with her still on the team. I don't even know if Toni's going to be allowed to remain Quidditch captain after this. Amanda's not back in the dorm yet, but Toni's been ranting and yelling for the past two hours. Think she's scared off everyone else except me. Let's see what Mandy has to say for herself when she gets back.

_January 23__rd__ – later_

Mandy's back, and almost in tears. She insists she didn't deliberately throw the game (to be fair, her playing today was only as bad as everyone else's - not surprised we lost) but she only made the bet because she was trying to impress that Brazilian Ravenclaw girl she fancies. Apparently, betting in favour of Ravenclaw was meant to make her like her, or something. Toni mellowed a bit after that. I get that Mandy's had it tough when she isn't even sure if she's in the closet or out of it, but that was still a bloody stupid move. Not sure how that excuse is going to wash with Snape.

_January 24__th_

The entire team got called into Snape's office this morning. Toni and I insisted we knew nothing about the bet and we didn't deliberately throw the game. Mandy insists she didn't either. Snape doesn't care. He's still furious. Whether we lost on purpose or not, betting for money on school Quidditch matches isn't permitted. He's given Mandy detention for a week and made her pay back the 40 galleons she won, which didn't seem so bad, except he then told Antonia to "deal with it". In other words: kick her off the team. Mandy quit rather than let Toni humiliate her like that. Now she's not talking to either of us.

_January 24__th__ – later_

I think Mandy's back in the dorm now. I've got the bed curtains drawn, but I think I can hear someone crying in the bed to the left of me. Now I do feel kind of bad. Six years at this school and she's been my friend through all of it, even after all the stupid fights we've had. But this is the worst. Now I don't know if she's ever going to speak to me again. It's not like I had any choice but to side with Toni, is it? Although I'm really not sure that she's done anything wrong. I believe her that she didn't try to make us lose, and is it really so bad just to place a bet on something? But still, this whole situation isn't exactly my fault. I'll try talking to her again in the morning.

_January 25__th_

Amanda wasn't there when I got up this morning. Saw her at breakfast, but she left just as Toni and I were arriving without speaking a word to either of us. Toni picked a replacement for her this afternoon – a fifth year called Rob Kelly from the team reserves. I don't really like him much, but it's short notice and he's a decent player. Jordan Grey – who's only a bloody reserve herself - is kicking up a fuss again that she'd make a better captain than Toni if Toni inspires so little confidence in the team that they'd bet against themselves, so Toni had to find a replacement quickly. I don't know why we can't just kick her off the team altogether. I'd much rather have Mandy back than her, but it looks like that's not going to happen.


	3. Divination

_**Third Year – Divination**_

_October 22__nd_

Professor Trelawney is the most bloody annoying teacher in the history of magical education and divination is the most stupid subject I have ever regretted taking. She spent no less than thirty five minutes of today's lesson rambling on about how she sees "darkness in the future" and "some of you will rise to greatness but fall very far" and "death and dark times lie ahead" and other melodramatically sinister rubbish that I'm sure is meant to scare us, but nobody's buying it and she's obviously a complete fraud. If I'd known I'd be stuck with her when picking my OWL subjects I never would have taken this class.

Thirty five minutes of absurd rambling that stopped being funny after about the first three. I passed Toni a note half way through.

"Apparently, when You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts he handed in a cursed piece of homework to a teacher that annoyed him. Do you want me to curse our horoscopes essays?"

She passed one back.

"Yes"

I'm thinking a curse that forces her to cluck like a chicken every time she attempts to spout off some vague fake-prophecy nonsense might be a good idea.

_October 23__rd_

Told Mandy about the note. She says only one curse isn't trying hard enough. If you don't initiate a campaign of cursed homeworks over the course of at least two months, each one getting progressively worse than the last, to the point where the teacher is scared to set assignments at all then you aren't worthy of calling yourself a Dark Lord. That's actually not a bad plan. Where Trelawney's concerned, I'm pretty sure she doesn't have the slightest bit of skill required to see it coming.

_October 31__st_

Had Grubbly-Plank as a sub in double divination today, which - and I never thought I'd say this - was an improvement on the regular teacher. Trelawney wasn't there. Apparently she's come down with some kind of illness, although they're not telling us anything specific about the ailment. Today was meant to be the day we were getting our horoscopes essays back too, but now we'll have to wait.

Mandy looked far too unsurprised by the news, and, I think I'm justified in saying, a little smug. I don't know if I should be concerned. I was only joking about the curse…


	4. The Yule Ball

**A/N: In the books they only had the Yule Ball for the Triwizard Tournament, but why not do something like that every year? Since I thought the Hogwarts students would appreciate a winter dance, they do now.**

_**Fourth Year - The Yule Ball**_

_December 16th_

This is the first year I'm old enough to go to the Yule Ball, which I must emphasise is the only reason I'm going at all. Well, that and a certain floppy-haired, dance-obsessed friend - who I am not going to name - dragged me and Toni into it, and we are only going just this once for the experience. Dance is not my thing. At all. But... I'll admit, I'm kind of glad we did go in the end. Not for the dancing, but it had some redeeming features.

Toni and I spent the first hour or so standing round awkwardly watching everybody else, but Mandy (okay, I named her) was really into it. I've got to admit, she's good at all the ballroom stuff. Apparently, so is Professor Cable. I'll bet his fourth year Muggle Studies class sees him in a whole different light now.

It was about 9pm when Mandy got all shy and didn't want to dance with the boys any more. It was at that point that Toni and I realised she'd spotted that Reina Silvas had showed up, which explained a lot. So of course, what were we to do but try and get them to dance together? No point hiding Mandy's talent, and I know there was no one else in the Great Hall she'd rather dance with, but she's so damn shy about it. In every other walk of life Amanda Petersen is one person you don't want to mess with, but put a pretty Ravenclaw girl from Brazil into the equation and she comes over all blushing and awkward.

It took a bit of persuasion.

"Why don't you go ask Reina to dance?"

"No, I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because... I just can't."

"Well, you like her don't you?"

"...Yes."

"And she likes you?"

"I think so..."

"So just ask her!"

"But people will see!"

"If people can handle the sight of those things Hagrid calls dress robes, but not the sight of two girls dancing together when you're easily the best dancer in this room, then there's something wrong there."

It took a bit more convincing, but in the end it worked. Toni and I watched her go find Reina - I swear I've never seen Mandy more nervous, although she isn't exactly nervous often - and I've got no idea what she said, but next thing I know they're dancing together. A Viennese Waltz, I believe (and if anyone asks I only know that because Mandy may have mentioned it) and off they go twirling round the floor, both of them clearly having a great time. Drew a few glances, but only because of how good it was. They were still going even after the music stopped.

"Someone tell her she can stop spinning now," Toni commented to me.

I smirked. "Never going to happen."

Turns out that little bit of matchmaking came back to get me. By way of payback, Mandy tried to convince me to ask Flynn Miller to dance. I refused, both on the grounds of dancing and the choice of partner. That didn't stop him from coming to ask me, however (which I still think Toni had something to do with). I said no...maybe once, before I said yes. And okay, I kind of enjoyed it. He's actually a pretty nice guy. Maybe I've been a bit unfair just writing him off before now. And Toni got a dance with Charlie Boot, and, I think, plans for a date later on. So not a bad evening for two people who turned up dateless because they didn't want to be there, and one because she's too self-conscious.

So... I'm still not going again next year. I don't do dancing. But I did enjoy the evening overall. If I was going for the experience, then I'll mark it down as a good one.


	5. The Quidditch Fiasco Mark II

_**Seventh Year – The Quidditch Fiasco Mark II**_

_March 10__th_

Again? Really?! Once more the Slytherin Quidditch team has found itself in trouble, all because Amanda fucking Petersen can't just play by the rules and doesn't realise she can't just do whatever she fucking likes without there being consequences. Maybe she didn't think she was doing anything wrong, but seriously, she didn't even think to mention it to Toni? Or me? So maybe we could have told her she was doing something stupid? But no, she just has to go and get into trouble all on her own, doesn't she?

So, what happened this time? Well, her cousin Ben has just started Hogwarts this year and loves Quidditch and wants to be on the team and all that, which is fair enough. But then Mandy thought it would be a good idea to buy him his own broomstick, which is against the fucking rules, as she seems to have forgotten, and tell him to try out for the team.

Yeah, okay. Cute thing to do for her cousin. Except for the fact that she's a prefect, encouraging a first year to break the rules, and telling him to try out for the team apparently counts as nepotism. That is, according to Snape, who's just found out about this and is now mad again. After we just managed to convince him to let us have Mandy back as chaser, I'm not surprised he's pissed. So he's stripped her of her prefectship, which is understandable, but now he's given it to me instead, and I'm pretty damn sure Mandy resents me for that. It's not like it's my fault, is it? And Snape has also just confiscated a perfectly good Nimbus 2002, which I'm not happy about, even if he was taking it off of a snotty first year. I'd kill for a broom that good.

This all reflects doubly bad on Toni, who's Head Girl and Quidditch Captain, and now it looks like she can't even keep track of what her own team are up to (Jordan Grey is going to love this…). But despite that, she told me she didn't want to kick Mandy off the team again. I don't know why we can't just have her as a team strategist - or a bloody cheerleader or something, if we must – because every time we let her on the pitch it just seems like she causes drama.

Mandy said she was going to step down anyway. Didn't want to make Toni look bad, which was decent of her. Only problem is, now I think we're going to have to bring Grey in as a permanent chaser. She's a good player, but if there's one thing I've found after seven years of sharing a dorm with her, she is not easy to get on with.

At least by this time next year we'll all have graduated, and hopefully I'll have that Ministry job I'm going for and won't have to deal with all this crap anymore.


End file.
